Author's Note: So now that my show is OVER OVER OVER I should have time to update regularly again. At least until AP exams start. Ugh. Oh well...four days until spring break. :D

Chapter 8

The sentinels began to move forward toward them, but at a much slower speed than usual. Neo leaned forward against the console, bracing himself. For a few fleeting seconds, he felt a stab of sadness that he could no longer see them in the golden corona of light that he had witnessed before. Now they were no more than little swirls of movement in the blur of color that made up his world. He could still feel them, though, he realized suddenly, though the connection had been weakened significantly. He closed his eyes and forced himself to focus, and immediately his senses were bombarded with a torrent of sights, sounds, emotions. It was the epitome of chaos, and it was utterly overwhelming.

"Neo?" Trinity's voice, through the storm, her hands on his back, steadying him. "You okay?"

He raised one palm for silence, struggling to gain control of the swirling vortex of perception. It was harder, somehow, than ever before, and he wondered if his abilities had been somehow permanently damaged, a remnant of the injuries he'd sustained in his duel with Smith. His head spun; his legs felt rubbery. He was dimly aware of Trinity helping him into the chair, but he did not dare break focus. He could feel one of the sentinels more powerfully than the others; it must

We don't want to fight, he thought, concentrating on getting the words or at least the intention across to the sentinel. We just want to talk. Let us through.

One image grew out of the others, blossoming in the darkness against his closed eyelids. The gates lowering, and a pathway into the city, past all the sentinels, into the very heart of the city. The sight sent a shock through him; he'd been here before, at the very end.

And then just as suddenly, the image and the connection were gone and he fell back against the chair, opening his eyes and gasping for breath. His entire body felt utterly drained. Everyone was standing huddled in the entrance to the cockpit, staring at him. Kid's mouth was hanging open, and even Niobe looked moderately impressed.

"Neo?" Trinity stepped forward and brushed a hand across his forehead, much more than she ordinarily would have dared in public. "What did you see?"

"I don't know…" He shook his head and grasped loosely at her hand, letting her fingers slip through his. "But I think they'll let us in now."

"All right. Niobe, maintain our present course."

"Captain, are you sure?"

"Yes. Just take it slow."

There was a low rumbling noise from outside the ship, then a dull clunk, and the floor began to rock beneath their feet.

"What the—" muttered Link.

"They've latched onto our hull," answered Niobe.

"They're escorting us in," said Neo, for he was sure now that that was their intention.

He pushed himself up out of the chair with great effort, still weak from his ordeal. Trinity moved to help him, though discreetly, one hand on his arm, the other pressed against the small of his back. She led him back to their room, then deftly maneuvered him onto the bed, sitting down beside him and wrapping an arm around his waist.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" she whispered, leaning in to place a gentle kiss against his temple.

Neo laughed bitterly and turned into her touch, bringing one hand up to tangle in the hair at the nape of her neck.

"Hell no. But do I really have a choice? Like you said before, it's my duty. It's the only reason I'm here, as far as the Council and the people are concerned."

"Neo…I don't want you to feel like you have to do this. Not after last time."

He sighed, forcing himself to focus once more, fighting down nerves. He had no idea how he would find the strength to face the task before him, but he knew he could not live with himself if he backed down.

"Trinity…you know as well as I do that they won't talk to anyone else. I need to do this. For Morpheus. For you." He attempted a laugh to lighten the mood, but it failed miserably, breaking off into something like a sob. "Besides, I'll be fine as long as I don't close my eyes, right?"

"Neo…" She ran a hand up under his shirt, caressing the sensitive line of plugs there. "You're shaking."

He shivered under her touch, then leaned over and pulled her into a crushing embrace. He was painfully aware that he had been less than supportive lately, especially since the Athena had left Zion. He was torn every second she was in his sight now, wracked with guilt at the knowledge that he would be utterly unable to protect her if the need arose. He knew she would likely kick his ass if she ever found out, but still the feeling would not leave him alone.

"Neo…" Her voice was filled with concern; he knew she wanted him to talk, but he simply couldn't bring himself to face reality at the moment.

Neo leaned in and caught her lips wit his before she could manage another word. She stiffened against him at the initial contact, but he was used to this reaction by now. Though he had taken it as a bad sign at first, he'd come to realize that defense was her gut response to everything. It had become a sort of game he'd played with himself early on, racing to see how quickly he could get her to relax.

He mirrored her, slipping one hand up under her shirt and pressing his knuckles into the spot at the top of the line of plugs. She arched into his touch, moaning, and his pulse sped up. It had been far too long, he thought, since they'd been together like this. What privacy they'd had had been dedicated almost solely to comfort; survival. She was meticulously gentle with him always now, and on more than one occasion he'd caught her looking at him out of the corner of her eye, as though afraid he'd break or vanish into thin air. It was unnerving and heartrending to the extreme.

"Neo." She pulled away at last, holding his shoulders at arm's length. "We need to formulate some kind of a plan. We'll be there soon."

He took her by the wrists and gently removed her hands from his shoulders, clasping them in both of his and leaning back in to kiss her. He knew that she was right, but still couldn't bring himself to face the fear. Her fingers dug into his shoulders almost painfully, betraying her own misgivings. She pulled away again a moment later, but all attempts at steering the conversation back to the mission were gone, replaced by pure desire and need.

"Trin…" He stopped suddenly as the realization hit him. He knew that she expected him to go farther now, but he still was not ready. He hated the fact that he couldn't see, hated feeling so completely dependent. He knew that she would understand, but still couldn't bring himself to ask for help.

A sharp knock on the door broke the moment, bringing both disappointment and relief. He would have to face this another day. Until then…well, there were larger concerns to be dealt with. Trinity pulled away and went to answer the door.

"Yes, Link?"

Neo shifted uncomfortably on the bed, painfully aware that she had said Link's name only for his benefit.

"The machines are broadcasting, Captain. They say that if we are to have an audience with them, we must adhere strictly to their conditions."

"And those conditions are…?"

"They want to talk to Neo. Alone."

Trinity sighed loudly.

"That's not acceptable."

"They're not willing to negotiate."

"They'll have to."

"Captain…"

"I'm not going to let them manipulate me, Link."

"But Captain…"

"I'll go," said Neo loudly, forcing himself to stand. His knees felt rubbery, but he refused to let it show.

"Neo, you can't," said Trinity dismissively. "You can't even walk by yourself."

He knew she was only stating the facts, would never mean it in a hurtful way, but still the words stung like alcohol on an open wound.

"Let me go," he repeated. "You know we don't have a choice."

The air outside of the ship was deathly still, and felt charged with a strange foreboding. There was a slight metallic smell in the air, and it was oppressively hot. Thunderclouds roiled overhead in the dark sky. There was the anxious feeling of the calm before a storm, but there was no longer enough moisture left on the planet for rain.

Neo took a few tentative steps forward, hoping he was not about to fall off the edge of a cliff and plunge into the machine graveyard below. He hated the idea of facing the machines alone, unable even to see his enemy this time, but he knew it was a challenge he would have to face. Even Trinity could not deny the fact that they were helpless against the machines' terms. They needed information about the virus, and a violation of the delicate protocols they had established so far could have repercussions as far reaching as to jeopardize the delicate peace settlement.

Two cold metallic tentacles closed over his wrists, and Neo bit his lip to stifle a cry of surprise. The tentacles tugged a little, and he realized that he was expected to follow. The sentinel must have been sent to lead him to the place of rendezvous. It was the ultimate trust walk, he thought, blindly placing his life in the detached, logical control of his enemy. He took a few steps forward, slowly at first, then faster.

A few moments later the sentinel came to a halt and let go of Neo's wrists. One tentacle came forward to gently press on the center of his chest.

Stop. The word made its way into the periphery of his mind, along with an image of himself standing at the edge of a cliff.

"Thanks," he muttered in the direction he guessed the sentinel to be.

A dull roar filled his ears, then the deep, booming voice of Deus ex Machina.

"You return, human."

Neo forced himself to nod slowly, resisting the urge to turn and run. Before it hadn't mattered. Before there was nothing left to lose. Now he had every reason in the world to want to stay alive and in one piece.

"Your motive?"

"The people of Zion are falling ill," said Neo, careful to keep his voice neutral. The last thing he wanted was for the machines to take this inquiry as an unprecedented attack. "Some of the freeborns have been…infected with your pod technology. And those who were born in the powerplants are experiencing hallucinations of sorts. It's as if something is hacking their minds from inside the Matrix."

"Strange," said the voice noncommittally.

"Do you know what is happening?" asked Neo, feeling his stomach turn over dangerously. He knew he was on shaky ground pushing further, but they needed a definitive answer.

He was met with the words he had both hoped for and feared; the words that turned the end of one path into the beginning of another.

"We know nothing."

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